May 23, 2015

I haven't cooked with my gals at I Heart Cooking Clubs in almost a year. But when I found out about this special get together, I had to get back to it.

This week, IHCC is holding a virtual potluck in honor of Deb from Kahakai Kitchen. Deb recently lost her mother, so we're all getting together to offer our support.

It's well known that Deb loves soup. After reading Deb's tribute to her mother, I found out that her mom loved soup too. So I chose to bring White Bean Soup from Rick Bayless topped with Mustard Croutons from Yotam Ottolenghi (which I've made before).

The soup was thick and creamy from the pureed beans. Hot sauce was a nice finishing touch.
The recipe can be found HERE. I used celery instead of celeriac, Louisiana Hot Sauce instead of a Mexican brand, and parsley instead of cilantro.

In a large skillet warm butter and oil over medium heat. Add zucchini, onion, and garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes until wilted. Stir in the bell pepper, tomatoes, oregano, and salt. Cook for another 10-15 minutes, until zucchini is very tender.

While the vegetables cook, make the sauce.

In a saucepan, warm butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the flour. Cook and stir until bubbly. Add the garlic, evaporated milk, and sour cream and heat through. Stir in cheese, cover pan, and remove from the heat. Stir again in several minutes if needed to melt cheese evenly. Keep sauce warm until serving.

Serve the zucchini mixture with spoonfuls of the cheese sauce.
6-8 servings

In a large skillet warm butter and oil over medium heat. Season the chicken strips with half of the oregano and half of the salt. Brown the chicken, then add zucchini, onion, and garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes until wilted. Stir in the bell pepper, tomatoes, and remaining oregano, and salt. Cook for another 10-15 minutes, until zucchini is very tender.

While this cooks, make the sauce.

In a saucepan, warm butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the flour. Cook and stir until bubbly. Add the garlic, evaporated milk, and sour cream and heat through. Stir in cheese, cover pan, and remove from the heat. Stir again in several minutes if needed to melt cheese evenly. Keep sauce warm until serving.

Serve the chicken & zucchini mixture with spoonfuls of the cheese sauce.

Apr 27, 2015

Dessert is the best part of any meal.
Hand held food is always fun.
Cheesy is good.

Get where I'm going?

So if chips can be turned into a meal, I'm gonna give it a whirl.

Taco Casserole is like a pan of layered nachos, all beefy, cheesy, sour creamy and with loads of green onion (my favorite part). It's good as is but even better topped with lettuce, tomato, and jalapenos.

This casserole doesn't hold up well as leftovers.

The chips get soggy. Who likes soggy chips?
No one, that's who.

For the three of us, I cut the recipe in half and make it in an 8 x 8 pan.

Then I do it all over again another night.
Chips for supper twice in one week!

Brown the ground beef. Stir in the taco seasoning and picante sauce. Whisk together the broth and flour and add to the beef mixture. Simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated and the beef mixture has thickened. While this simmers, mix together the green chiles and sour cream in a separate bowl.

Place half of the tortilla chips on the bottom of the pan. Spoon half of the beef mixture over the chips. Then spoon half of the sour cream mixture, half of the cheese, then half of the green onion. Repeat with the remaining chips, beef, sour cream, cheese, and green onion. Bake for about 20 minutes to heat through and melt the cheese.

Remove from oven and let stand for a few minutes. Top with shredded lettuce, tomato, and jalapenos. Squeeze lime juice over the top (optional) and serve.